Ninja Theory boss: AAA is 'crushing innovation'

But we're heading towards a 'digital revolution'

Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades, developer of Enslaved and Heavenly Sword, has said that he thinks the "AAA retail model" is "crushing innovation and access to creative content."

The business model of big-budget AAA releases - which Antoniades says is "creaking" in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz - will shortly lead to a "digital revolution".

"It's such an opportunity for fun creative games to reach a target audience," Antoniades says of smaller, digital titles, adding that "there's this stranglehold that the AAA retail model has which I think is just crushing innovation and access to creative content."

It's a price thing, apparently. "If you're paying that much for a game, you don't want to take chances. You want everything to be there, all the feature sets. You want it to be a known experience, guaranteed fun. That's not healthy."

Ninja Theory isn't currently producing any digital products, however; the UK studio is currently working on the Devil May Cry reboot for Capcom, to be eventually sold via the AAA retail model. What's the reason for that, then? "The high budget, high stakes retail model - the barriers to entry for that are so high, so difficult, that we seem to be getting, being offered, decent work in that area," says Antonaides.

"It's hard to say no when you've got a team of 100 and you have to keep the payroll going. Another big project comes along, you tend to go for it."